Give us Dawood Ibrahim, India tells Pakistan

India on Saturday asked Pakistan to hand over underworld don Dawood Ibrahim stating that enough evidence have been given to it on the prime accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday sought to assure the country that Mumbai serial blasts mastermind Dawood Ibrahim would soon be nabbed and brought back to India to face the law of the land.

Replying to media queries on Dawood having been caught on a tape suggesting that he was in Karachi, Singh said Dawood continued to be on India’s list of most wanted terrorists and the government had demanded the Pakistani establishment to hand him over to India.

“We are mounting diplomatic pressure on Pakistan and also chalking out a strategy to nab Dawood,” he said adding, “Just wait and you will soon see Dawood in our grip.”

Minister of state for home, Kiren Rijiju, said India’s stand has been very clear that Dawood has been living in Karachi. “We have been asking to hand over him to India for a long time. Already much evidence has been given to Pakistan. Pakistan should now act and hand him over to us,” he said.

Rijiju said Pakistan should cooperate with India in fight against terrorism if it was serious. “We want it to act on evidence,” he said.

India has made this demand to Pakistan many times earlier but Pakistan had denied his presence in the country. However, Dawood, listed as an international terrorist, has reportedly been caught on tape by a western intelligence agency talking to one of his associates from Pakistan’s Karachi city.

Singh had last month said Pakistan was providing shelter to Dawood and the underworld don was staying along the Pak-Afghan border.